ed the offered wheelchair, the very idea of it an insult to her newfound strength. Dressed in a sharp

ike a declaration of independence. "Foster Real E

with professional warmth. The closing documents were laid out on a polishe

, she took out the bla

alance in full," she

uiet, satisfying beep. Chloe was handed a small, heavy box containing the keys and security fobs to her new life.

xpanse of the CEO's office at Montgomery I

out quarterly earnings. His mind wasn't on the numbers. It was on the silence. T

ated. Another

t had maxed out the card's astronomical daily

inside h

xpensive resin cracked and then shattered, splattering black i

alking, his eyes

an growled, not

. He stared down at the city, at the thousands of people moving below, and felt utterly, furiously alone. These past few days

tive assistants' bay, Laura Vance was

ants. "She hasn't been here in days. It's over. He's finally realized she's just a prett

stood there, his face a thundercloud, the black i

urrying back to their desks and pret

desk. The small succulent she kept by her monitor was starting to wilt, its leaves

er desk. Clean it out. I want ev

th triumph. "Yes, Mr.

ramic mug, a few books. Julian watched, a muscle twitching in his jaw. As Laura tossed the last item in-a small,

ommanded, hi

er hand hoveri

ed. "Did I tell you to throw that out? Put

bey, placing the box on the edge of his des

cture frame. It was the only photo he had allowed in the office, taken on their honeymoon. Chl

est. He violently shoved the photo face down on h

artling him. It was his b

You sound like hell. Meet me at the

wife's things, at the face-down photograph. Yes. He needed a dr

re," he said